I Will Protect You
by Dwellin
Summary: Momo wants to protect Toshiro, and Toshiro wants to protect Momo. Ichigo gets dragged in and wonders why. Pretty soon Rukia, Kira, and Renji are involved too, but who has been manipulating all of them? Pairings: MomoxToshiro of course, and RukiaxIchigo
1. The Determined Heart

**SUMMARY:** Momo is going to protect Toshiro even if it kills her. Hitsugaya is just as determined to protect her, even if it kills her. Ichigo gives love advice. Oh, and handcuffs are involved. (Not in that way; get your mind out of the gutter! ^_^)

Pairings: Hitsugaya and Hinamori. Don't like that pairing? Then let me save you the trouble: Don't read. Some Ichigo and Rukia.

Simple plot, simple story, but I wanted to write it.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

This is just a short story involving a few chapters.

The long and short of writing is this: I write what I would like to read. In this little story, the central idea is one that I have taken from Momo: Action Hero or Cat Burglar but wanted to take it in a different direction to see what it looked like. This is the outcome of those musings. Hope you enjoy.

I do not own Bleach, although I ask Santa for it every year. He never listens. I am starting to doubt his existence.

* * *

**I Will Protect You**

**Chapter 1**

**The Determined Heart**

The sun was sinking and full dark was falling swiftly. If she wanted to leave without being caught, this was the perfect time. The guards from the day shift were yawning, shifting their feet impatiently as they waited for the next shift to show up and relieve them. It would take a while for the guards to fill out reports, debrief their comrades and for the new shift to get settled before making their usual rounds. Definitely, this was the best time to slip out without being noticed since Aizen and company had defected.

Hinamori opened the door and peered about her, pausing for a second to make sure no one was around. After taking one last look, Momo slipped her arms through the regulation backpack filled with essentials for camping out. Tied to her waist and resting on the small of her back was a thin camping futon. It was obvious that she was planning on a trip and not being questioned about where she was going, what was going on, and why, was crucial to her plans.

The Fifth's fukutaicho tried to move quietly while at the same time not appear as if she was lurking; lurkers always attracted attention. The last thing she needed right now was attention. Once she turned down a narrow, rarely traveled alleyway, and filled with handy to hide in shadows, she softly chanted a kido spell under her breath. Once the force field to hide her spiritual pressure was in place around her she started off.

The small form of the shinigami female was still visible to the naked eye so she needed to stick to the lengthening shadows as twilight descended. It was imperative she not be seen by any of the others as they would only think it their duty to stop her if they knew what she was up to.

Not seeing a soul, Momo darted from the concealment of one alleyway into the one on the other side of the small street. Although she had a long way to go before she would be in the clear, the brunette vice-captain couldn't help the sigh of relief that escaped her; but only when the city was leagues behind her could she truly relax.

* * *

"Momo? Are you ready?" Hitsugaya yelled out as he stood on the porch outside of her living quarters, just in case she was in the bathroom and didn't hear him knocking. "Geez baka yarou*, I hope you didn't forget our sparring session!"

Even before he was done calling out, he could tell by the absence of her particular flavor of reiatsu she wasn't home, but he couldn't bring himself to accept she wasn't there. Where else would she be at this hour? It was before sunrise. She was never up before sunrise. When they had been growing up in the Rukongai it had always fallen on him to wake her up in the mornings.

The previous day he had suggested that before starting the workday they could spar a bit in the continued effort to get her strength back up to where it had been before she had been pierced by Aizen's zanpakutou.

It was odd that she was up so early. Hinamori was not known for being an early riser and was definitely not a morning person. He wondered what was so important that she was able to get herself out of bed without assistance. Maybe she was… No, nothing came to mind, and especially since he had seen her the day before and made it a point to ask what her schedule was like. Since her injury and near-death experience, Hitsugaya made it his mission in life to keep an even closer watch on her. _To keep her from doing overdoing it so she won't have a relapse, _he told himself. Something that was becoming a daily mantra to cover a terrifying realization he refused to let see the light of day.

He stood on her porch, wavering between feeling irritation and indignation before settling for both. Reaching for the door, he slid it open. Normally Hitsugaya would respect Hinamori's privacy even if the door were unlocked; rarely were doors locked in the Soul Society. After all, why would Soul Reapers need to lock their doors, they were the top of the food chain here.

Peering in, the captain of the Tenth then poked his silvery-white head in and called out again, even though he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that she wasn't home. That's when he noticed the blizzard of a mess that had gone through her living area. Alarm and an unnamed panic sent him charging in, ready to mete out justice with an icy blade. Studying the room with a frantic yet careful eye, he saw immediately that there were no traces of blood or signs of violence done. Everything was just thrown about as if the occupant had been hurried and distracted.

Now Hitsugaya stopped in the area between the living room and kitchen, slowly scrutinizing everything as he slowly turned in a circle. This was not the work of a burglar or foul play, this was Momo's doing, but why?

Deep in thought, the youngest captain cupped his chin in hand as he once again turned in place while examining the room. Then he tried to recall what was missing. Having a photographic memory and having seen every inch of Momo's living quarters in the past, it wasn't long before he came up with a list of items that were gone. All of her camping gear. Again, why?

To leave so suddenly and in an all fire hurry wasn't like her. Momo liked things to be meticulously thought out and well planned before leaping into anything. Hitsugaya knew for sure that she didn't submit any request forms lately and unless there was some kind of emergency, she wouldn't have received an answer this quickly. That meant she left without permission. If she had left on an urgent mission he would have been informed by a messenger as soon as it happened. All captains were kept up to date on any missions, especially those of other captains and also vice-captains.

Puzzled, he unconsciously wandered around the room thinking back on the previous day going over everything he and Momo had talked about. Unfortunately, he couldn't think of a thing that hinted to this odd behavior and disappearance. It was as Hitsugaya was passing by her desk when he saw something that stopped him in his tracks.

It was an incident report. Recognizing his handwriting he picked it up wondering how it had gotten here. He only scanned the first two lines when he realized exactly which report it was and then the panic flared up. Flinging down the paper, Hitsugaya made it back to his office with a mere couple of shunpo steps. He knew what she was going to try and do; he just didn't know how she was going to achieve it.

* * *

Matsumoto emerged from the bathroom after giving herself a quick grooming. She had been drinking the night before and had fallen asleep on the couch. Her bladder woke her up and demanded it be taken care of with such urgency she had no choice but to obey.

Once finishing up, she started to leave when she got a good look at herself in the mirror, realizing she was a frightful mess. The sunset-haired fukutaicho decided a good grooming and a brushing of the teeth were called for.

It wasn't like she was planning to do anything but go back to sleep, but it made her feel better. Then she glanced down at her clothes and gave a little sniff. They definitely needed to be changed; they were wrinkled and reeked of sweat and stale alcohol. That would not do. Matsumoto was not one to be obsessed with her looks or clothes, but the one thing she did take pride in, besides her awesome bust size, was that she was neat in her attire. Good thing she kept an extra shihakusho in the closet.

After changing, she smiled and her reflection in the mirror smiled back at her. Good, she was all clean and ready for a nap. She gave her hair a pat of approval and turned toward the door.

Upon exiting she found Hitsugaya rummaging through the papers on his desk, opening and then slamming drawers shut with a loud bang. Not looking up at her he snarled out, "Matsumoto, did you take my pen again? I can't find it anywhere!"

She flicked her hair back with the back of her hand and thrust out her chest (her best distracting techniques) as she walked by her desk and quickly palmed his pen.

"No I didn't. I don't know why you always accuse me of stealing your silly little captain's pen!" She passed by the edge of his desk and dropped the aforementioned pen on top of the papers in his in-box, hoping her voice covered the sound of it hitting the pile. Then she spun and pointed, "Oh, look, there it is Taicho! Right where you dropped it when you were doing reports last night."

Hitsugaya just grunted and snatched it up. He had seen her drop it but knew yelling at her for taking it wouldn't change a thing; some things in the universe were constant and one of them was named Matsumoto.

"I need to find Ichigo Kurosaki…"

"Oh? I thought you didn't like him.

"That's not true…"

"Well, are you friends then?"

"Define friends."

"Taicho, it's not that hard of a question. You know, pals…"

"Matsumoto…"

"Bar-hopping buddies?"

"Matsumoto…"

"Have the same tattoos on your chests of girls in string bikinis?"

"What?!"

"Biker chums?"

"Matsumoto!"

"OH! I know, you are both male models, but that's your day job! In reality you are both art thieves being chased by two beautiful Interpol agents sworn to bring you both to justice!" Here she winked him while placing a hand on a rounded hip.

Hitsugaya merely stared at his fukutaicho while one eye twitched uncontrollably. He lifted a hand to hold it still, not that it worked.

"Where do you come up with this stuff?" he finally managed to croak out in a hoarse voice.

She waved a slender hand vaguely in the air, "Oh here and there, but mainly at Renji's place on movie night. You ought to come Taicho! He's been borrowing stuff from Ichigo and lately he's been on a spy kick."

"Really."

"Well, you're in luck. Since last night was movie night, Ichigo was there and I happen to know that he spent the night. He came to visit his girlfriend!" She practically sang that last word while fluttering her eyelashes. "He's probably still over at Renji's, but you might want to hurry because he didn't drink last night. He has a condition that he called, what was it now?" she looked at him from under her lashes, 'Oh, yeah, Un-dera-age."

"Simpleton, that's underage." But noticing that his second seat was actually at work so bright and early, _and _presentable after a night of drinking (since how often in a century was this bound to happen?) he decided to give her some positive feedback; it might encourage her to do it again.

"I am pleased to see you here before you need to be, Matsumoto." Pleased? He was shocked to the point of being traumatized.

Matsumoto waved him off, "Oh it was nothing Taicho. I had this sixth sense you would need me today and hurried in so I could be of help."

The needle buried itself in the red zone of Hitsugaya's bullshit gauge. He lifted a thin silver brow at Matsumoto. His vice ate up compliments and praise like Yachiru devoured candy. This modesty on Matsumoto ill-fitted her and only confirmed his suspicions that something was definitely off.

Then he remembered why he was there. He didn't have time to delve into the warped morass that served as his vice-captain's mind.

Hinamori was all he could concentrate on for now. Quickly he filled Matsumoto in and ordered her to stay although he had to threaten her with Hyourinmaru when she insisted that she should come with him. Hitsugaya would be the first to admit that Matsumoto had many quirks and, quite frankly, flaws, but she was loyal and when it came down to it, she was trustworthy and reliable in a pinch. The problem was, the running of day-to-day life of a division couldn't be classified as a pinch.

* * *

(24 plus some Hours Later)

Momo woke the next morning and sat upright with a jerk before remembering she was waking up in the cool, fresh air with the sky as a canopy overhead. Chuckling at her startled reaction, she stretched out her arms and yawned.

If she weren't on such a serious undertaking, this would be a thoroughly enjoyable outing. _Except the sun gets up way too early!_ She groused while scratching at a few bug bites received during the night. Her mouth turned down at the thought she would probably not be returning from her quest, and then shook her head to get rid of the dark thoughts that threatened to overwhelm her. _Well at least there's a bright side_, she shrugged _and it's that I won't have to worry about getting in trouble for this._

Remembering the stream nearby she had found the night before; Momo went to perform morning ablutions before trying to make the difficult decision whether to eat the hard-as-rock traveling biscuit or the other one for breakfast. It was a tough call.

After a hasty breakfast, if unsatisfying breakfast, Momo swiftly gathered and packed her gear so she could get started. Still on her haunches she jerked on the last strap to make sure it was tied tight enough, she didn't want things banging around on or digging into her back. Finally satisfied, she stood. She wanted to make it to the wasted lands by the end of the day and get as far away from the Seireitei as she could get before opening up the unofficial Senkai-mon. Undoubtedly when switched on it would still set off the sensors in the security division and then a search party would be sent. Hopefully by then she would be long gone.

It was as she bent to reach for her backpack that she felt the approach. Straightening up she took a step back in surprise and consternation upon seeing Hitsugaya and an orange-haired stranger dressed in a shihakushou standing at his side. Momo had never laid eyes on him before but knew by the coloring that this was the Gotei Thirteen's substitute soul reaper. She found that she couldn't stop staring at his hair, which was the same color as Rangiku's. It was unusual since it wasn't a color one saw that often, and then she wondered if he was frequently asked if that was his real hair color.

Finally Momo stopped staring and noticed that both shinigami males had their arms crossed and wore expressions of eminent doom; all directed at her.

The idea of turning and sprinting off crossed her mind but it would never work. Hitsugaya was stronger and faster than her and from all reports, so was Kurosaki. Maybe perky and friendly would help defray the friction and strain building between them.

"Hello. What a pleasant day. Are you two going camping also?"

Momo smiled as warmly as she could despite the queasiness building in her stomach. "I only brought supplies for one, but maybe we can catch some fish in the stream over there." She gestured a hand off to the side. Neither male broke eye contact with her.

Toshiro eyes, the color of blue-green gems, were hooded. He wasn't buying Momo's act. However, a quick glance to the side told him that Kurosaki was softening. Blast Momo's cuteness! Of course, the human hadn't grown up with her so he didn't know that when she was being adorable and endearing like this, she was also being her most deceptive. At least that's what she thought! However, he didn't think that the orange-haired idiot would fall for it.

Momo noticed right away when Kurosaki's brows began clear and his expression stopped looking so ominous and scary. Maybe if she pressed just a bit more this shinigami could be persuaded over to her side since he was an unknown factor.

"Of course, without a chaperone of sorts, it would be rather unseemly for us to be on a campout together." She ignored the explosive, and not to mention rude, snort from Hitsugaya.

"It would only start rumors and blemish reputations." She flashed her dimples in a charming smile at the human soul reaper, and now that she had an opportunity to study him, she could see how handsome he was, well, once one got accustomed to that brilliant hair and actually looked at his face. And what beautiful brown eyes he had. "She could see why Rukia was so taken with him; at least, that's what she heard through the grapevine. And, if it were also true that he was sweet on her, he wouldn't want to do anything to damage that regard. It would be in his best interest to leave. Momo widened her smile.

Hitsugaya's eyes narrowed and flicked back and forth between Momo and Kurosaki. He definitely did not like the admiring gaze she was giving the former ryoka. An unexpected rush of jealousy flooded him and even as that and a savage anger flared up in him, he realized how out of control it was making him feel and he wrestled it back down. This was ridiculous; this idiot wasn't after Momo, _his _Momo. If Kurosaki needed that made clear to him, then Hitsugaya would take him aside at some other point in time and explain it to him with the sharp end of Hyourinmaru.

Kurosaki was not oblivious to the perilous aura radiating off his friend in an ominous corona. He didn't need to turn to look over at the silver-haired shinigami to confirm his suspicions, he could also feel the venom of Hitsugaya's glare stabbing at him. If such things had power, he was sure the skin on that side of his face would have been burned to a crisp and peeling from the intense smolder of that glower.

_What do you know__.__ The little iceberg has a soft spot, no, make that an internal, raging blizzard of emotion when it comes to this shinigami girl!_ Now he knew why Hitsugaya had been so adamant and wouldn't take 'no' for an answer when he had showed up at Renji's quarters to inform him that he was going to help look for Momo.

"_Why do you need me if she's just lost?"_

"_There may be hollows involved and much worse. I want someone with me I can depend on."_

That comment made by the usually aloof captain was the deciding factor for Ichigo; that and along with the fact that it sounded like another girl in need of rescuing. He just couldn't seem to turn those missions down.

It was obvious how important this girl was to the white-haired captain since he barely let the human have time to get dressed before he was hauling Ichigo out the door. Ichigo still wasn't sure he understood what was going on, but part of it that was clear was that Hitsugaya cared deeply, very deeply about this girl and that, Ichigo could understand. Now the part about Hinamori going off to commit suicide by way of stupidity was still a little unclear to him.

Ichigo looked over at Hitsugaya and then rolled his eyes away and looked off to the side as he placed his hands behind his head and said, "I told you she probably had a good reason. Geez, talk about overreacting."

Hitsugaya acted as if he didn't hear Ichigo's words, as he studied Hinamori. She was twisting her fingers around each other, a sure sign she was nervous and trying to deceive or lie to someone. Momo wasn't good at either one of them.

"Don't be fooled Kurosaki. Hinamori is lying, or trying to."

"What? I'm not…," she trailed off hearing how unconvincing her own voice sounded. Toshiro was right.

Now Kurosaki was scowling at her again with the same intent stare as Toshiro. Momo couldn't help but flinch as she stepped back a pace. Anything to distance herself from those sharp, fierce eyes, fixated on her much the same way a hawk studied a fat field mouse. Not only that, she could feel the depths of the power of their reiatsu threatening to erupt and knew both were incredibly strong, although at the moment both were keeping it well in check. She really didn't want to see either one's reiatsu explode out.

Hitsugaya saw Hinamori take another involuntary step backward and knew she was seconds from fleeing.

"Hinamori, as Captain of Tenth Company I am taking you into custody. You will have to face charges of leaving without permission." He paused and then added, "You will be held in the Tenth's detainment cells as pending an investigation and until the Captain-General sees fit to have you released."

Momo's mouth gaped open before snapping shut. Stabbing a finger at the infuriating little snowflake, she angrily protested, "You don't have that right!"

"I do."

Kurosaki turned and leaned in a bit to whisper, "Are you sure about that?"

"No," Hitsugaya turned to scowl fiercely at him, "but I can pull rank and favor as I am one of the few captains in the First's good graces."

"Ah, brown-noser."

"Nothing like it! I do good work."

"Oh, then you're like the son he never had."

"Shut up Kurosaki!"

"The nephew?"

"I really don't like you."

Hitsugaya slid his hands out of his sleeves and clenched them into fists. Damn but this former ryoka made his blood pressure go up, making him so angry that he wanted to… Then he felt it. He turned to confirm with his eyes what he already knew.

"She's gone."

"Shouldn't have taken your eyes off her Toshiro. She's slippery."

"No, just headstrong when she feels that deeply about something."

"That little wisp of a thing?"

"She yelled at Captain Kuchiki once when he was willing to let Renji die of his wounds."

"Wow, really? Didn't think she had it in her." Ichigo stared off in the direction they both knew Hinamori had gone.

"Good thing Izuru was there to stop her. That's what kind of idiot she is, always standing up for the people she cares about."

"Uh, Toshiro, that doesn't sound like a bad thing."

"That's Captain Hitsugaya!"

"Right, sorry Toshiro."

"Why do I even bother," and then he flash-stepped after Momo with Kurosaki close behind.

* * *

It didn't take long for them to catch up with her. One moment Hinamori was on one hill ready to flash-step to the next when she collided with two hard, muscled bodies and bounced backward.

"Darn it!" she muttered as she fell back bracing for the fall, but both arms were grabbed and she was hauled back into an upright position. She started to thank them (already knowing who it was) when she heard a distinct metallic snap and her world went gray. It was not her sight that went, but that inner 'seeing' that came from the awareness of, collecting information, and measuring the world about her through the sense of her reiatsu. In a word, being cut off from one's reiatsu was the same as having one of the senses being turned off. Part of her was deaf, dumb, and blind.

Momo staggered, her knees crumpling beneath her, but once again strong arms caught her up. Trying to recover from the abrupt sensation of loss, Momo was near fainting as she fell against Hitsugaya's chest. With eyes closed and trying to catch her breath, she let her head drop against him. One area of her brain noted with surprised at just how broad his chest and wide his shoulders had gotten. Every part of him she was in contact with was chiseled and firmly toned. Underneath her cheek she could feel the strong rhythm of his heartbeat and the warmth of his skin through his uniform. For a brief second she enjoyed the guilty pleasure the well-being and reassurance she felt just by being held in his arms. Vaguely, she was aware that an arm had slipped downward, wrapping around her waist in a seemingly possessive manner. It was as if he was no longer holder out of necessity, but embracing her out of want.

Against all better judgment, and some amazement, Hitsugaya instinctively encircled Momo within his arms, drawing her close, flush against his body. He was astonished to find how soft and perfect it felt as if she were meant to be there, meant for him, and then he simply soaked in the pleasure of the moment while wishing it could stretch on indefinitely.

It started like an itch. One notices the tingle at first but then ignores it hoping it will go away. As always such an irritant never does, it only gets worse until the tingle escalates into a burning desire to scratch. That is what Kurosaki's gaze felt like on the Hitsugaya's back, the area right between the shoulder blades.

The Tenth's captain fervently wished the human were anywhere but here to witness Hitsugaya's predicament. How could he possibly extract himself from what this looked like, what this was: him clutching Momo in a fiercely possessive and overprotective embrace.

Regaining her wits, although still reeling from being cut off from her reiatsu, Momo straightened and hissed, "Let go of me!"

Reluctantly Hitsugaya dropped his arms and took a step back, but was ready to move in again if Momo showed any signs of collapsing.

As for Momo, when staring down at her wrists an array of various emotions ranging from disbelief to outrage threatened to overwhelm her although at the moment, overriding them all was shock. That white-haired sneaky bastard of a captain had slipped handcuffs on her! Worse, they were the kind used to seal away reiatsu. Studying them, she saw symbols engraved around the edges, which meant they were also sealing away her kido powers at the same time.

Hitsugaya waited, knowing what was coming next.

"Why?"

He met her indignant frown with his own unperturbed ones but was feeling anything but inside of him.

"You can't be trusted."

"Harsh. Handcuffing your girlfriend like that," said Ichigo.

In the same breath one yelled, "She is not my girlfriend!", and the other, "I am not his girlfriend!"

Ichigo held up his hands ceding to their vehement protest, saying, "Right, got it. You can turn down the high beams now." At their uncomprehending expressions he just shrugged and looked back and forth between the two as their expressions settled back to normal. However, the tension between them was escalating again and making him uneasy. He looked around; hoping against hope a hollow would magically appear so he could have an excuse to leave.

Jerking a thumb over one shoulder, he announced, "I'm going over there… because I want to. See ya."

Momo watched Kurosaki's receding back for a moment before turning back to find Toshiro's unwavering gaze on her.

"You are coming back whether you want to or not Momo. Even if I have to throw you over my shoulder."

Momo almost snapped out that if he did they would crumple into a heap on the ground because she was too tall and too heavy for him… But looking up into Toshiro's blue-green eyes as they drilled into hers and she knew he was not in the mood to be trifled with.

Then she looked him over. No, she wasn't taller than him anymore, she couldn't loom over him using her height to try and intimidate him. Not that it ever did. Examining him, she noticed what had been overlooked before this and it was with a sense of deep shock that the truth finally dawned on her; Toshiro was not only taller than her, but he was whipcord lean even as she could see muscles rippling under his clothes. He wasn't a kid anymore; he was turning into a man. A man? A man!

Feeling the telltale heat rising to her cheeks, Momo wrenched her gaze away to the side, hoping Hitsugaya would mistake her flush for anger.

Thinking the glance away was an artfully passive show hiding rebellion underneath; he snapped out, "Do you understand the trouble that you could be in and what I am saying?"

Setting his lips in a grim line when all he received was a curt nod, he resolved to keep a close watch on her. Turning from her he lifted his hands and cupped them around his mouth to shout at the distant Kurosaki, "It's time to go." Blast, could he have gotten any farther away!?

Came the faint shout back, "Are you two done with your lover's spat yet?"

Instantly two voices yelled back, "We are _NOT_ lovers!"

Ichigo shrugged and then muttered to himself even though no one was near enough to hear, "Not yet anyway."

* * *

"Kurosaki."

A snort came from one side of the bed.

"Kurosaki, wake up."

"Hn?"

"Kurosaki!"

"Shaaadup, lemme 'lone."

"Wake up Kurosaki!"

"Fivv mor m'nuts…"

"WAKE UP baka head!"

Ichigo bolted upright and tried to swing out of bed even as he reached for where he had placed Zangetsu the night before, only to be jolted backwards. Cursing he pulled on his right arm which was being hindered in some fashion. Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes with the heel of his left hand, he turned to frown at his right. Instead what he found was two livid blue-green orbs glaring daggers at him.

Instinctively he leaned back and asked, "What?" Then he scrubbed his face with his hand, damn, it was way too early in the morning to deal with one of Hitsugaya's pissy moods. Then Ichigo realized his left hand was stretched out behind him in an uncomfortable position and he could feel something cold encircling his wrist. Oh this had better not be what he thought it was.

Ichigo peered down at his arm, following it all the way to his wrist to an unpleasant discovery that blew away the last vestiges of sleep.

"Huh!"

Fuming he turned to Hitsugaya and pointed at his wrist while grinding out, "What the freaking hell dude! You'd better have a damn good reason for this! Forget it! There's no reason good enough for this! So, what the hell! And give me the key!" Ichigo jerked on his wrist for emphasis.

"Stop it you orange-haired freak!" Yelled Hitsugaya as he yanked back on his own wrist, which pulled on the length of chain attached to Ichigo's cuff. "You think I did this! Not by a long shot! Who would do this? Think about it for a minute! No, in your case that would take too long. Here, let me make it easier for you, who in this room is missing? Just take a wild guess."

Ichigo took a deep breath to calm down as his looked about the room and then returned to eye the handcuff on his wrist. He followed the chain and saw that it was wrapped around one of the bars on the headboard and then handcuffed to another cuff with the other end firmly fixed around Hitsugaya's wrist. That little… He was so angry he couldn't think of anything to say. His eyes went up to Hitsugaya's and both men's eyes locked and held, hard and stony.

"You breathe a word of this to anyone and I will kill you."

"This is something we both take to the grave, agreed?"

The two continued to stare each other in the eye before nodding. This would not be mentioned even in a deathbed confession.

* * *

*baka yarou - depending on how it is inflected could mean 'damn guy, stupid guy, idiot guy, or idiot' or even worse. Having read some of Bleach in Japanese, I have come across this as what Hitsugaya calls Hinamori when he is irritated with her and decided to use it here.

So how did they end up handcuffed together? Find out next chapter.

Oh, **big watery-anime eyes**, please leave a review.

Thanks for reading

_Dwellin_


	2. Didn't See That Coming

**A round of applause (and a *hug*) for Aine of Knockaine who beta read this for me and she rocks at it! Patient, encouraging, and full of good advice. *Rummages around in closet* "Hold on, I have a pedestal around here somewhere fo her to stand on...." (And also a heartfelt hug for my other beta Milly-chan who is busy getting ready for her wedding!)**

**I do not own Bleach, although I ask Santa for it every year. He never listens. I am starting to doubt his existence.**

From last chapter: "You breathe a word of this to anyone and I will kill you."

"This is something we both take to the grave, understand?"

The two continued to stare each other in the eye before nodding. This would not be mentioned even in a deathbed confession.

* * *

**I WILL PROTECT YOU**

**Chapter 2**

**Didn't See That Coming**

"Stop jerking! It's not gonna come loose that way!"

"I'll kill her! I swear to God I'll kill her!"

Hitsugaya had muttered under his breath but Ichigo heard him and answered, "Not if I get to her first! Can't you make your woman behave?"

Hitsugaya went still, giving Ichigo a murderous look. "The same to you," he said in a dangerously tight-lipped tone.

Ichigo started to snap back but then it occurred to him and his silver-haired opponent that bickering wasn't getting them any closer to freedom. And besides Rukia was the last person he could make 'behave'. Hollows feared him, Arrancar respected him, captains wanted to spar with him, but his girlfriend was the one who kept _him_ in line. Better to drop this line of discussion immediately and move to something else.

"How'd she do this? You had the key!"

Hitsugaya closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Who knows, but I expect that she had a backup plan ready in case she was caught." He dropped his hand and turned to Kurosaki, "That's the kind of girl she is."

* * *

_The night before the three of them, Hitsugaya, Kurosaki, and a handcuffed Hinamori, had checked into a building stylizing itself as an inn. It was a decrepit place but it would keep out the elements and give them something to sleep on besides hard ground. Hitsugaya and Kurosaki had passed by the place on their hunt for Hinamori. __B__oth __men__ could cover greater distances with greater speed than Hinamori could__,__ so __they__ hadn't needed to stop and rest like she had. _

_When booking the room, they had asked for one with three beds, but the innkeeper had informed them that he only had one room with more than one bed, it had two. He had looked at them with shifty eyes set in an oily face and then waggled his eyebrows suggestively, especially after he caught sight of the handcuffs on Hinamori's wrists. _

_Hitsugaya started to lunge for the little man but Kurosaki beat him to the punch, literally. Once he hauled the innkeeper back to his feet, Ichigo shook him and then politely asked for a room. They got the best one in the house, at a discount. _

_Upon arriving at their room, Hitsugaya looked around and thought 'some discount'. It was hard to believe that this was one of the best rooms in the place. He had seen supply cabinets larger than this. In fact, the one in his office was bigger. His mouth tightened in disapproval at the sight of the double bed on one side of the room and the single on the other. Both were shoved up against the walls allowing for a small space to move about. _

_He gently guided Momo over to the single bed and kept an eye on her as she sat down, with attitude and a bit of a pout on her lips. The thought appeared in his head before he could monitor it, "She's adorable, and those lips are…" He immediately halted that line of thought. This was, a really, really bad time to be thinking thoughts like that!_

_While Hitsugaya was seeing to Hinamori, Kurosaki dumped her bags near the door as critically inspected the cheap accommodations. Both men looked at each other in silent agreement, not needing to state that obviously Hinamori would use the single bed, in deference to her being of the delicate gender and neither trusted the other. They would take the larger bed. Neither liked the situation but any other arrangement would have had a zanpakutou flashing out and released for battle. The room was just too small for that._

"_You better not snore."_

"_And you better not kick..." came with a return glare, "or drool!" _

_There was much glaring and glowering on both parts of the males for the rest of the evening. Even when she took a much-needed bath (the only time Hitsugaya took the cuffs off her), Momo swore she could feel the tension through the shut door._

_Later, when they were all settled for the evening and the lights were off, Momo could hear them as they fought what they thought was a silent battle over bed space, blankets. This soon elevated to comments being hissed at each other as if they thought she could sleep through the commotion._

_Finally she had enough, sat up, turned on the desk lamp, and ordered them to go to sleep. When they protested (at least having the grace to look sheepish) they weren't being noisy she glared at them. They might have gone to sleep, _might have _but neither Hitsugaya nor Kurosaki were able to relax enough to do so. But it was the orange-haired, _pampered _human who sat up and announced he couldn't fall asleep next to a hostile, anal-retentive, spike-head with the personality of a Popsicle._

_Momo gave a frustrated scream and then threw the covers off her bed (not easy to do handcuffed) and both male soul reapers turned their faces away and fixed their eyes on the wall._

"_Oh grow up! As if I am going to parade around with nothing on in a room the size of a closet with two bickering men! I am dressed and totally covered!"_

_Despite her words, Hitsugaya covered Kurosaki's eyes with a hand. After all, it wouldn't be as disastrous if he saw Momo showing skin, he had grown up with her, but there was no way in hell he was going to allow the orange-haired idiot even a peek at her. When he finally turned he saw that she was still wearing in her shihakusho. _

"_And you were worried!" she grinned._

_He dropped his hand from Kurosaki's face and said, "She's dressed. It's okay to look."_

_Kurosaki did, but turned slowly on the bed just in case Hitsugaya was lying to him. He let out a soft sigh when he saw for himself that all the important parts were indeed covered. _

_Dropping to her knees she began scrounging around in her backpack for tea…_

"The tea!"

"That's when!"

"Little brat!"

Someone needed to take charge, and since he was the only one present of captain rank, that meant him. Hitsugaya leaned forward trying to see around Kurosaki's larger frame, which was awkward since it was his right wrist that was chained. "You are the one next to the desk, see if the key is in the bag."

Although Ichigo was on the edge of the bed while Hitsugaya was on the side against the wall, his left wrist manacled and chained in such a way that he had to roll onto his left side with his left arm stretched behind him and then he sat up. That shinigami female knew what she was doing when she had handcuffed them together. He had just enough room to sit up at the head of the bed but couldn't move around much or it pulled on his arm and Hitsugaya's. Luckily he could just reach the desk.

"Hurry up!"

"Would you like to do this? Be my guest!" But Ichigo didn't stop in his effort to stretch out for the bag that looked like it was just within his reach; besides they both knew Hitsugaya couldn't reach from his position near the wall.

Fumbling fingers stretched out until his fingers finally reached it. As he pulled it toward him, Ichigo saw a piece of paper flutter down to the floor.

"Hold on a sec."

"What? Ouch! Stop yanking!"

Ichigo managed to snatch the paper from the floor and straighten up into a sitting position. Opening it he started to read it when he felt the bed shift and then Hitsugaya was leaning over his shoulder. He held the note to his chest, and pokerfaced said, "Give a guy some privacy willya."

Hitsugaya wanted nothing more than to shove the irritating human off the bed but that would painfully wrench on his own wrist. Instead, with a fierce glare, he hissed out, "What's it say?"

"She left the key with the innkeeper." Ichigo crumpled the paper and threw it on the floor with a growl. "How thoughtful."

He turned to look over his shoulder and grumped, "For someone with such a cute face and sweet personality, your girlfriend sure is diabolical."

"She's not my…" Then curiosity overrode the protest, "Why do you say that?"

"She was going to let the maid find us in the morning." He glowered and clarified, "Like this," and rattled the chain between them.

There was a significant and weighty pause.

"No way in hell!"

"I'm glad I have pants on." Ichigo looked over at the opposite wall, "But I'm beyond ecstatic that you do too."

"Can we drop that and get back to the matter at hand?"

"Right. Let's get these things off."

Both looked toward the head of the bed and the chain woven around the wooden bars. Then blue-green and brown eyes exchanged a knowing look before leaning back and kicking at the bars. After a satisfying crash they gave each other a smirk and rolled off the bed, careful not to pull on the chain. Heading for the door they gave each other as much space as the chains between the handcuffs would allow.

"What are we going to say happened to their bed?"

"Cockroaches."

"I can live with that. By all means, blame the wildlife."

* * *

It was after retrieving the key from the innkeeper who profusely apologized the whole time, but how was he to know that the shinigami female was an escaped fugitive? Both thought, '_handcuffs__!'_ but held their tongues, neither wanted to speak with him any more than they had to.

Although at first neither Hitsugaya nor Kurosaki understood the overblown bowing and scraping as he begged their forgiveness until they spied their zanpakutou leaning in a corner. Such was the sudden outpouring of reiatsu from the two shinigami that that the wooden counter serving as a front desk creaked under the weight and threatened to splinter before they reigned it in. Once the zanpakutou were returned along with the key, in as speedily manner as the innkeeper could manage, the two unlocked themselves and turned, heading back up the stairs to their room.

"Oily little rodent."

"Yet quite common around these parts."

"Hope we don't have to deal with him again."

"Forget him, let's pack and get the hell out of here." Hitsugaya said with eyes glinting darkly. "We have a fugitive to find."

It was only later after they left the inn far behind them did Ichigo speak again. "She's pretty determined to go through with whatever it is she has her mind set on."

"I'm just as determined she won't."

"How are you going to stop her?"

"More like, 'How is she going to stop me?'"

"Yeah, I saw how that went. Going by last night she did a damn fine job of it."

They were not flash-stepping fast enough to cover the sound of Hitsugaya grinding his teeth.

"A mere setback." Hitsugaya looked sideways out of the corner of his eye at Kurosaki, "I won't make the same mistake twice."

"Well, you wouldn't be much of a genius if you did," Ichigo pointed out, and then smiled dryly, "Could it be that she is messing with your head." _Or heart? _But he wisely refrained from sharing that last thought.

Speeding up until he was ahead of the annoying orange-haired human by several lengths, was Hitsugaya's only answer.

* * *

Momo hurriedly set up the framework of slender metal poles, connecting them with screws and bolts. It was a wobbly affair but she didn't have time to tighten them all the way, and besides, it only needed to hold together until the little machine attached to it by wires generated a miniature senkai-mon. The framework wouldn't be able to withstand such use more than once, but it should hold until the tunnel was completely connected and then some. In theory at least, for it was only meant for a one-time use. It was, she thought, what could be classified as a disposable senkai-mon, and smiled with satisfaction, the first of its kind.

Once the wires from the small black box were hooked up, Momo squatted next to it and flipped a switch while muttering a low-level kido spell. That would act in concert along with the battery. Ingenious she decided proudly, even if she did think of it herself. Hopefully it wouldn't generate enough to be picked up and she also didn't have to use too much reiatsu to keep it going. Maybe that would help keep it from showing up on some security monitor here and also go unnoticed by any security measures in Hueco Mundo.

Momo's brow knit in a frown of concern and absently she lifted a thumbnail to chew on. She was under no illusions that it would go totally unnoticed, especially knowing that Toshiro would be looking for her. Trying to mask her spirit pressure now would be useless, as he could easily sense the small amount she had infused into the reiatsu-storing cells in the box.

Momo took a moment to look around and then stretch out her senses. No one was close by and she let out a sigh of relief. She just might be able to reach her intended destination.

Standing up and studying her handiwork with a sense of gratification, the dark-haired shinigami congratulated herself on a job well done. Now all she had to do was wait until a gate, not as large or as tall as the official ones in the Seireitei, was finished powering up. It wouldn't be as sturdy as those either but it would fit her purpose.

The only warning she got was the sudden change in air pressure. Before the petite fukutaicho could even turn to run, she was suddenly lifted and whisked away from her set up. When her feet were once again placed back on the ground, Momo knew that there was no way she could break free and sprint for the senkai-mon. These two were much too fast.

Hitsugaya and Kurosaki let go of her arms and turned so that they were standing right in front of her, blocking her way back to her creation, although they knew as well as she did that she was no match for them in terms of strength or speed.

Momo also didn't have to look at them to know they were furious, but she did, and saw the grim, forbidding scowls on their faces confirming her suspicions.

Momo said the first thing that came to mind, "Oh, you found the note." They glared. Dropping her chin, she looked up at them from under her bangs, "And the key…" The air was definitely turning ominous. "I don't suppose you both took advantage of the free breakfast donuts?"

Hitsugaya glared at her through narrowed eyes glinting with repressed fury and Momo bit her lip and ducked her head even lower. He was much angrier than she thought he would be.

Thinking that the other shinigami would be more sympathetic, Momo tilted her head back to look up at Kurosaki. He was very tall, taller than her by at least a head and a half and right now that height loomed over her. Her eyes had to scale up and up until her head was tilted all the way back only to find the same harsh, menacing expression on his face. If they both meant to unsettle her, they were doing a fine job of it! Momo clasped her hands up to her chest.

Hitsugaya recognized the gesture immediately and knew that Momo was feeling very intimidated. He grunted in approval. She needed to be.

"Oh look!" Momo's eyes widened and she pointed her arm between the two males at point behind them.

"We're not falling for that."

"And besides, if you did use that ruse to run off, we'd catch you easily enough."

"No, no! Look!" Momo jabbed her pointing finger again at something behind them. "Even if you won't look, can't either of you feel it!"

Hitsugaya finally became aware of the fluctuating spiritual pressure and the definite foreign feel to it. He whirled, captain's cloak twirling in his wake as he faced the metal framework of Momo's strange construction. Cursing his obtuseness for not having noticed sooner, but worse, having to be clued in by a vice-captain, the captain of the Tenth reached and unleashed Hyourinmaru off his back in one fluid motion.

Seeing his movement, Kurosaki also swung around and before he had crouched into a fighter's stance, Zangetsu was uncovered and his hand pointing in the same direction as Hitsugaya's zanpakutou.

Momo was nearly beside herself with self-reproach. To make matters worse, Tobiume was with her pack… on the ground right next to portable senkai-mon... right where the hollows were pouring out of the gate. She would have to weave her way through them to get to her zanpakutou. Tears of anger and frustration pricked her eyes but she brushed them away, this was no time to be breaking down. Darn boys, darn hollows! Everything was going just fine until they showed up! It didn't take any great leap of the imagination to realize that this was turning into a complete and utter mess. Worse, her leg was starting to hurt again. Glancing at the boys to make sure they weren't watching, Momo palmed another pill and popped it into her mouth.

Hitsugaya watched as one hollow after another stepped through what looked to be and operated like a small senkai-mon and growled out, "Momo! What have you done?"

"This is not the way it was supposed to work!" she cried.

"What the hell was it supposed to do then, bake a cake? Is that what I think it is?" Kurosaki asked, both hands on Zangetsu now as his gaze flicked back and forth among the hollows deciding which one was the going to be the most trouble. That was the one he would attack first.

"Yeah, it is, but it's not a regulation gate and how she did it… Well, we'll find out later. Right now we need to stop them and destroy that machine."

"Right."

"I created it to step through but you two went and interrupted me!"

"And that makes it okay?! " He gestured at the machine, "You complete idiot! Look! For them to be stepping through one after another like this means they knew you were coming and were waiting on the other side."

"How?"

"I would like that answered, but now is not the time. Before we attack, will that thing blow up if we try to destroy it with a zanpakutou or does it have to turned off?"

"Yes, any zanpakutou blast will cause it to yield a greater output inverse to the energy in containment and even more so since it is all being held together by a kido spell. But I can turn it off if I can get to it."

"That's all I wanted to k now. Kurosaki and I will clear a path for you." Hitsugaya turned to give the orange-haired substitute shinigami instructions, "Kurosaki you take the…" but all of a sudden the silver-haired captain found himself speaking to empty space. There was a black, red, and orange streak heading toward the greatest concentration of hollows, which, even now were turning in the direction of Hinamori and Hitsugaya.

"A real team player that one."

Although there were more hollows stepping through the gate, Hitsugaya wasn't too worried. One look and it was obvious to him that these particular hollows were of a lower intelligence. Their only asset was in bulk and strength. Kurosaki could easily handle them.

As Hitsugaya flash-stepped over to help his friend another hollow came through. However, this one was a modified hollow, the level before becoming a full-fledged arrancar.

Hitsugaya leaped and bounced off boulders and trees, too fast for the eye to follow as he sought to confuse the enemy. Dizzily, he moved about before landing behind the hollow nearest Momo's device, but this one was not taken in so easily and already had his own zanpakutou out.

In a moment the almost-arrancar transformed into a giant, round-shouldered beast. A buffalo-skull mask tipped up on his forehead just high enough for the glow of reddish feral eyes to peer down at him. A black tangle of a goatee hung from a slobbering muzzle out of which protruded lion fangs. A growling snort produced a blast of fetid air. Hitsugaya would have gagged but knew it could easily be a tactic to throw off his guard if he turned his head away.

Which is what happened. A halberd with razor sharp horns clustered at the tip swung in his direction, making a whistling sound as he deftly leaped out of the way. He didn't have time to study it as it was swung up and then back down at him. Effortlessly he spun out of its path while using his momentum to carry Hyourinmaru in an arc aimed at the buffalo-hollow's legs. It didn't catch him by surprise for he jumped back out of reach, which Hitsugaya expected. Neither one was truly serious yet; both were testing each other's strength and ability.

Over his shoulder, the silver-haired Juuban tai taicho frantically searched for Hinamori. That was when ground-shaking roar sounded and he whipped around to find Hinamori being chased by another modified hollow, only this one was muscle-bound and solid, sporting a bear muzzle so filled with jagged fangs they sprang out in all directions.

Even from his position, Hitsugaya could see the insane and vicious gleam in the small black eyes as the beast-hollow swiped at the dodging Momo with bear paws ending in sharp claws several feet long. The only saving grace was because of the structure of his build the beast lumbered more than ran, giving the smaller form of the female shinigami the edge in this race. That didn't keep Toshiro's heart from nearly seizing up in fear.

He would have rushed to her rescue but even as he turned to do so, a bellow sounded. Hitsugaya reacted instinctively and leapt skyward; not bothering to look behind him, knowing that he had just evaded a killing blow. As his trajectory took him up, he once again searched for the one person more important to him than anyone else in the world. Upon finding her, he saw that Momo had retrieved Tobiume and was crouched into a defense stance and grimly watching the advancing bear-like hollow.

Seeing the bear hollow charging toward Momo sparked fear along with igniting a white-hot rage. With a powerful snap of his zanpakutou, Hitsugaya yelled, "Ryuusenka!" and the power of Hyourinmaru erupted out, seizing control of the surrounding weather. Ice and water surged outward, covering trees, grass and nearby hollows.

Around him, a great burst of silver and blue blossomed causing the combatants underneath him to look up and watch as the air surrounding Hitsugaya rapidly froze water vapor to throw off a rainbow halo around him. Frozen water particles began to rain down on those below as great wings of blue ice fanned the air.

Though many looked up, the silvery white-haired shinigami ignored them, his eyes were locked onto the one person who mattered most. He smirked when he saw that the transformation into his bankai form had distracted the bear hollow, even if for a split second. He watched as Momo took advantage of the opportunity Toshiro had given her. It was all she needed. In a whirling spin, she thrust Tobiume out in front of her and shouted the release command. A fireball erupted and struck her foe with a mortal blow. Even so, Toshiro would have nose-dived to place himself between her and any hollow foolish enough to attempt an attack on her, but at that very moment another enemy leapt up into the air beside him, bringing the fight up to him. He smirked. As if this creature was a challenge for him.

Hitsugaya flung himself at his opponent on wings glinting blue and silver as they sliced through the air. One flash of a swing so swift that it was nearly imperceptible and suddenly where a hollow had been was now a column of ice. He turned to meet another attack, this time two threw themselves at him snarling and growling, thinking him to be temporarily distracted and wanting to take advantage of that. A smiled played about his lips as blocked their attacks. Soon they were dispatched with ruthless efficiency.

While Hitsugaya was getting rid of his opponents, Hinamori spun and began a speedy dance of weaving back and forth among the crowd of hollows, most of which were focused on Kurosaki she was happy to note. Between Hitsugaya and Kurosaki, the hollows were quickly being decimated, cut down like chaff.

But despite her dancing and dodging, Momo felt a searing stab into her calf and immediately it began to burn, the fiery pain running from the tip of her toe and up her thigh. The unexpectedness of the stab and slice attack and the shocking pain made her stumble and roll across the grass. Quickly, she used her momentum to roll up onto one knee, her hurt leg stretched out to the side to anchor her. Tobiume was already up in a defensive position for she knew any hollow would sense the injured shinigami and attack like starving piranha.

Momo looked around in surprise. Not one hollow seemed to take note of her and then she saw the reason why. They were now on the defensive, hard-pressed by Kurosaki and Hitsugaya in lightening speed attacks, especially Kurosaki whose shunpo speed surely had to equal or even surpass Yoruichi's.

Although injured, the now wounded shinigami limped over to the senkai-mon. The blood felt hot as it ran down her leg and she briefly wondered if the blade had poison on it when it cut her. Or maybe it was a poison that kept the wound bleeding. At this rate she would only last for a short time. Her leg was also starting to hurt worse with every limping step.

Finally, she was beside the senkai-mon. Her head was heavy on her shoulders and the world was weaving back and forth around her, but Momo managed to hold a hand up and point at the invention. First she uttered an unbinding spell and then a destruction one. The cobbled together gate blew apart in a blinding burst. That got the attention of nearby hollows.

"Oops. Not good," Momo slurred as she tried to move away but all that came of it was a stagger to the side and a hard fall to her good knee. Again, she leveled Tobiume into a defensive block for the edges of her vision were darkening and her tongue felt thick in her mouth.

Blurred forms rushed at her and she blocked and thrust away the descending blades, but it was getting harder to avoid them as they began to come at her from all directions.

The next thing she knew was the reverberating roar of Hyourinmaru and a blizzard swarmed around her blinding her vision. Momo hunkered down and squeezed her eyes shut, hoping that Hitsugaya's freezing attack was having the same affect on the hollows because she certainly couldn't see to defend or attack.

Hitsugaya dove toward the crowd around Momo and shouted as Hyourinmaru again roared in a fury that matched his wielder's. There was one thought, consideration and purpose in his heart and mind and that was to utterly annihilate any threat to Momo.

Kurosaki was taking out the last of the hollows. Thankfully Momo had halted what seemed like an unending flow stepping through her gate. He was certain that his suspicions were correct that someone had manipulated Momo into opening it up, either to get her on that side or to get the hollows on this side. Had he the time, he would have puzzled over it more, but his initial sense was that this wasn't one of Aizen's schemes; it was far too clumsy for that. He put the thought away for the time being, there were more pressing matters to attend to right at the moment.

One more time Hitsugaya let out a fierce bello, which was laced with the timbre and pitch of an enraged dragon, at the enemy surrounding Momo.

Many of the hollows swarming around Hinamori looked up. At the last second before hitting the ground, Hitsugaya pulled up and leveled out in a blinding fast swoop, and used razor sharp icy wings to slice through many while a tail lashing back and forth behind him took out dozens more. Littered in his wake, touched by wings or tail, were all columns of ice.

Hitsugaya hovered several feet above the ground assessing the battlefield for potential opponents. Several near Hinamori paused, blades raised and ready to fall on her but as one they turned toward him, recognizing that he was the greater threat of the two.

Gently Hitsugaya floated down, feet touching lightly front of Hinamori to stand between her and the hollows and shield her from their attacks.

"All of you are dead," he said with eyes as icy as the wings on his back, and with a sweep of Hyourinmaru, all the hollows Momo had been facing were instantly solid blocks of ice.

Momo's eyes practically bugged out of her head. Toshiro had gotten stronger! This time he didn't even need to touch them to turn them into blocks of ice.

Turning, Hitsugaya found Momo sitting on the ground behind him and quickly looked her over. Worriedly he noted that she was looking pale and her eyes were glassy.

Seeing the expression on Toshiro's face, Momo gave him a watery smile as she gathered her strength to try and stand.

"I got it turned off," she pointed back to the metal pieces strewn about. As she put weight on her wounded leg it immediately buckled underneath her causing her to collapse.

* * *

My grateful thanks to these reviewers who took the time to comment (you made my day! ^_^)

Chaos Dragon; Full Shadow Alchemist; Llilium's Reign; hinatanaruto fan; akirk85029; Saigo no Hajime

A big hug to all of you!

_Dwellin_


	3. Things Were Going So Well

**I don't own Bleach, console me. **I thought I would say that first and get it out of the way.

And a hearty '_Thank You_' to my beta, Aine of Knockaine for being a good friend and wonderful beta reader!

**From last time:**

"I got it turned off," she pointed back to the metal pieces strewn about. As she put weight on her wounded leg it immediately buckled underneath her causing her to collapse.

* * *

**I Will Protect You**

**Chapter 3**

**Things Were Going So Well.....**

* * *

Before Momo could hit the ground, Toshiro's arms went around her as he slid under, catching her in his lap. Now that he wasn't worried about any more hollows attacking, although to him they had been more annoying than an actual threat, he could turn his complete attention on her.

Gently he lifted and settled Momo's slight form next to him, and then moved to kneel next to her leg. She was trying to tuck the leg up beside her and cover over the wound with her hakama. When that didn't work she tried to clamp her hand over it but he gently pried her hand off one finger at a time. He let out a chuff of annoyance. Momo could be so childish at times.

Not looking up at her, he sternly told her, "This needs to be cleaned and might even need stitches but I'll have to find out first so just let me take a look."

"I'll be fine," she said in a wan voice.

Then he did glance up and noticed the washed out pallor of her face and knew she was close to fainting, even if she denied it.

"Don't be stupid."

"Toshiro kun always says that to me, he must think I am a complete moron."

Surprised at the affectionate tone in her voice in contrast to her words, he watched as the corners of her mouth turned up in a delicate smile before her eyes rolled back in her head, fainting dead away and falling backwards onto the grass.

Hitsugaya turned and yelled, "Kurosaki!"

In an instant the orange-haired shinigami was standing next to him, leaning over to study the unconscious girl with worried eyes.

"Would you get Hinamori's backpack? She's injured and I am betting she has a shinigami field-kit in it.

"How bad is it?"

"Not much blood loss at the moment, but I can't see how deep the cut is. Now get me that bag!"

Ichigo was gone and back in a flash with her bag and watched as Hitsugaya lifted the hem of Hinamori's hakama away from her leg before carefully settling the foot and ankle onto his lap.

In the meantime, Ichigo rummaged in the bag and near the bottom found a basic medi-kit and pulled it out. Dropping it, he knelt down next to the wounded female, opened up the box and held it out so Hitsugaya could easily reach in and find what he wanted. The first thing he did was smear some topical painkiller so he could wipe away the blood without Momo being in too much pain.

It seemed to help. A sense of relief swept through Ichigo when he saw the girl's long lashes flutter open. A slight pucker between her eyebrows revealed her momentary confusion before memory returned. Immediately her brown eyes went to the Hitsugaya's kneeling figure as he hunched over her leg. It wasn't lost on Ichigo as he watched her frown fade and a soft light warm her eyes. That is, until Hitsugaya spoke.

"What have you done to yourself this time Momo?" Toshiro whispered in a scolding tone under his breath as he cleaned the blood away.

"As if I were stupid enough to stab myself!" snapped Momo. Her momentary unconscious didn't seem to any have adverse affect on her energy. In fact, she struggled to prop her elbows under her even as the pain caused the skin to tighten around her eyes and mouth.

Only briefly startled at the indignant tone of the vice captain, Hitsugaya gave her a considering look before returning to dab the blood away.

"Yet, it is evident that you need more practice, your defensive skills are sadly lacking."

"Excuse me if I was a little too busy to avoid getting poked!"

Both Ichigo and Hitsugaya's eyebrows went up at this uncharacteristic outburst and each gave the other a significant look.

"Here, Momo, see if you can find something to numb the pain," Ichigo said, hoping to distract her.

Momo didn't respond but instead gave Ichigo a look that told him that she saw right through his flimsy ruse.

"And stop wiggling like a child."

Ichigo flinched at Hitsugaya's tone and words. He certainly had a way with the women. Ichigo would have been on the receiving end of a good bruising if he had said the same thing to Rukia. He was surprised to see that Momo's only response was to frown and tilt her head back to look up at the sky obviously ignoring Hitsugaya's comment.

Momo didn't reply, couldn't reply at the moment for she was suddenly overcome with lethargy and her leg was throbbing in time with each beat of her heart. Not only that but without warning she was feeling very sorry for herself.

The silver-haired captain was braced for another comeback but was taken aback when he heard sniffling and looked up to find tears sliding down Momo's cheeks. Immediately he cursed himself.

Completely out of his element as to what to say or do that would console Momo, he snatched a cloth, put pressure on the wound before reaching for a thick pad. Hitsugaya settled for what he could to do and that was to finish taking care of this wound.

Once the wound was clean and pad in place, Ichigo handed Toshiro a bandage roll and he immediately set to the task of binding the pad in place. He was certain that it would definitely need stitches but unfortunately, there weren't any needles or thread in the bag to stitch her up. It would have to wait until they got back and he delivered Momo to the Fourth so they could do the job.

Upon finishing, he turned to see how Hinamori was doing and Hitsugaya's breath was caught in his throat at the sight of Ichigo supporting Momo by letting her lean against his chest while he patted her on the shoulder in a comforting manner. Ichigo caught the storm forming on Hitsugaya's face and simple said, "I have sisters. One of which cries a little," he rolled his eyes and then amended, "well, cries a lot."

"Fine," Toshiro dropped the cold mask of indifference over his features, feeling as if the former ryoka had peeked into his naked soul and the resultant ugliness that had flashed to the surface at the sight of Momo practically lying across the human's lap. "But we need to get going."

With the blood pounding in his temples and jaw clenched tight, he studied the drying streaks on Momo's face even as she wiped the rest of the tears away with the heels of her palm.

Great, just peachy, Momo thought. Everything was ruined. Her plans, the gate, her leg was wounded, and worst of all; Toshiro was disappointed and angry with her when all she wanted was to be the one to defend and safeguard him. If one could do something and didn't, and someone's precious person got hurt because of that failure, then what did that make the one who refused to take action in the first place when they could have prevented… Wait a minute? Did that even make sense?

Momo was getting confused not only by her own confusing thoughts, but also by the fact that everything around her seemed a little out of focus. She looked up again and immediately the sky started to spin. Goodness, she was feeling decidedly odd. Sort of… dizzy-like in fact.

She heard Toshiro say "Momo?" but it seemed his voice was coming from someplace far off in the distance rather than right next to her.

Suddenly, Toshiro's worried blue-green eyes and silver spikes blocked her view of the sky as he peered down at her asking, "What's wrong?"

She lifted a hand to her forehead, commanding her vision to hold steady before she answered. Giving him a tentative smile, she replied, "Oh, it must be the shock setting in. I feel a little woozy, but give me a minute and I'll be…."

Momo didn't have a chance to finish her sentence for Hitsugaya had scooped his arms under her knees and waist, then rose in a graceful, smooth motion. Despite his fierce countenance, his actions were gentle, even tender as he held her. She raised her large brown eyes to his and then couldn't tear her gaze away. In fact, a flush rose to her face before she ducked her head down so he couldn't see the color rising to her cheeks.

Toshiro studied the top of Momo's dark hair trying to discern how she was doing, more than a little concerned by her reaction but deftly hiding it under an aloof expression. The fact that she hadn't made a single protest over his picking her up concerned him even more. By this time, she should be waving her arms and fists all about the place threatening to hit him if he didn't put her down.

Momo chanced a peek up and saw that his eyes were still on her. Once again, she tucked her chin down so that all that was visible to him were the side locks hanging down in her face along with just the tip of her nose and chin.

It was hard to gauge expressions from just a glimpse. He gave out a frustrated breath, chalking up her quiet attitude to the fact she was only now starting to feel remorseful for unauthorized actions and breaking the rules.

Only when Momo sensed Toshiro's attention lift off of her did she look back up to study his profile. From this position and angle, she could tell that the once boyish look was gone; in fact his jaw line was sharp and defined. He was handsome, no, she took that back, he was more than just handsome, and attractive, good-looking... and so very stunning in his masculine elfin beauty. He had always been eye-catching, but resting securely in his arms she gazed at the silvery white of his hair gleaming in the sun and if he turned to look at her again, would have to resist the tempting urge to sink into the eldritch gaze of those beautiful dark sea-colored eyes. Her eyes lowered to the long, thin and expressive lips, usually kept in a firm line of disdain so much of the time, and wondered what it would feel like to press her own against his.

Quickly she managed to squelch the impulse to reach up and stroke a finger along the silver lock in front of his ear. Tentatively her hand rose a fraction of an inch before she noticed and nearly jerked in panic. These weird impulses must be from the blood loss she thought or more probably there was poison on the blade that had wounded her. Yes, that must be it, for what else could it be? It explained everything, especially the flush of heat stealing up her face and the rapid beating of her heart.

"At least the gate is closed," she mumbled, desperate for something, anything to distract her attention.

"Which you opened."

The statement hung in the air and the other two heard the unspoken accusation 'which allowed them entrance in the first place'. Her statement had been rhetorical; not an invitation for an evaluation on her actions, especially critical ones.

"Okay then!" she snapped back, "It's all my fault! I can admit that, but I had a good reason."

Hitsugaya raised one thin eyebrow.

Momo glared up at him, "Which you don't need to know."

"Fine."

"Fine!"

"But I will find out."

"Not today you won't!"

With a glare, he frostily informed her, "You lost the right to keep this a secret, whatever your imbecilic reason is, when hollows stepped through!"

"Thanks for pointing that out!"

"And you are still under arrest."

"Yes, yes, I heard you the first time you said it! But I'll have you know that things were going just swell until you showed up!" Momo voice rose as her hands clenched into fists.

"Are you daft? What is wrong with you, besides any fraudulent claim to sanity? And now that I think about it, why do you keep screeching like an old hen."

Her face scrunched up in anger, "_Screeching_?! You don't _**know**_ screeching! I'll show you screeching! _This _is screeching!" Momo held up balled fists and yelled in a rush, "I can't believe I have put up with you and your snootydistantcold... "here she stopped to catch her breath before ending with another rushed, "aloofsnobby standoffish.... and infuriatingly superior attitude for so many years!"

"Is that all you got?"

"Oh you think you're so smart! Well, you're still shorter than me!"

Momo was stunned at herself and her fists dropped as she panted trying to catch her breath. It was quite a scene from the good-natured and usually docile lieutenant who was not usually given to hurling abuse at people.

"You're reaching. If you were observant you would have noticed that I am an inch taller than you, maybe more. Who's the short one now?"

"You are ever so irritating!"

They both glared daggers at each other as they fumed, their noses almost touching.

Ichigo had watched the whole thing thinking it was interesting that Hitsugaya hadn't dropped her nor had she tried to get down. It was probably time to remind them they weren't alone in sandbox even if they couldn't play well with others.

"Yo! Lovebirds, remember me?"

Hitsugaya and Hinamori snapped their heads around to glare at the human; his amber brown eyes alight with amusement.

Kurosaki was on one knee stuffing those things back into the field pack, which had been tossed out and scattered in his haste to find the bandages and other medical supplies.

"Gotta say, I'm real impressed with how you two are working things out." He grinned crookedly at them, "I'm taking notes."

Ichigo ignored the immediately contrite expression on Hinamori's face and the fury in Hitsugaya's eyes as he turned to study the metal wreckage. Turning to look over his shoulder he inquired, "It's unusable now, right? No more hollows coming through?"

"Right." Toshiro would have said more but Momo started wiggling in his grasp and he looked down at her demanding, "What are you doing?"

"You can put me down now." There was the Momo he knew, he thought as relief as her normal self reasserted itself.

"Can you walk?"

She stopped to look at him, then at Kurosaki, and finally back to Hitsugaya. "Of course I can, it's just a little scrape." _Maybe a poisonous scrape, but still, it shouldn't be too bad_, she told herself firmly.

"Right. Okay then." He slowly lowered the arm under her knees so her toes and then feet gradually touched the ground. Then he waited until she found her balance before removing the arm he had slid down to her waist in case she needed the support, whether she would admit it or not.

"See, just fine. Now we can…" Momo dropped like a sack of rocks as her leg collapsed out from under her. Ichigo swooped in to catch her but Hitsugaya was already there. With smooth grace he lifted Momo in his arms again while giving Ichigo a frosty glare. Momo didn't see it or the placating gesture Ichigo made as he stepped back from the two.

"Hitsugaya-kun! Put me down!"

"No. And I've told you before, it's Hitsugaya taicho!"

"Well then oh-so-proper Hitsugaya taicho! I'm telling you that I don't need to be carried! I am a grown woman!"

Hitsugaya looked at Ichigo who had crossed his arms and thoroughly enjoying the show. "She'll slow us down otherwise."

"Right," Ichigo said, one brow quirked in a knowing manner.

Hitsugaya snorted. Stupid human. Then with a swift movement he shifted Momo.

Momo saw the scenery pass by in a blur and unexpectedly found herself on Toshiro's back in classic piggyback style. He reached and took her arms and pulled them in front to clasp them in one hand. The other he placed under Momo's butt to scoot her up. He smirked at her squawk of protest.

"This is ridiculous! I am not a child."

"Yet you act like one."

"You bring it out in me! Everyone else remarks on my maturity!"

"What? Your lack of it?"

"You… you… No watermelons for you!"

"Sore loser."

"Toshiro, really, put me down, this is embarrassing." Momo put as much whine into her voice as was possible and leaned forward so her mouth was right next to his ear.

He twitched in annoyance but said in a hard voice, "Not as embarrassing as being carried home over my shoulder." Her silence was so heavy and palpable he could feel the weight of the pout being aimed at him.

"No argument."

Momo sighed. She knew from of old when he was dead serious about something.

"Well if I am so disagreeable of a person, why don't you let Kurosaki-kun carry me?"

Momo felt the muscles along his back tighten and a unmistakable chill fell over the trio.

"Nope, not doing it. I want to live," Ichigo announced with a half-smile as he took a step back.

"Oh," Momo replied although her voice was fading. Another reason she wanted down but didn't want to admit to either of them was because she was pressed against Toshiro… all of her… front area. It was also causing her some odd, yet pleasant-like discomfort as well but she couldn't dwell on it at the moment. With head pounding and eyelids becoming heavy and she knew she was sinking fast. Well maybe a little nap wouldn't do any harm. Then, overcome with a sudden weariness, Momo laid her head on Toshiro's shoulder and fell asleep.

* * *

Later, after a few shunpo steps and many miles behind them, Hitsugaya slowed down to a walk and Kurosaki fell into step with him.

"What's wrong?" The orange-haired human's tawny eyes narrowed as he scanned the surrounding scenery. Admittedly his ability to sense reiatsu wasn't the greatest, but he couldn't sense anything wrong.

"Is she still asleep?" Hitsugaya asked but he already knew the answer. He knew it before they had started out. Momo's slender figure was relaxed and pressed flush against him in a way that she would never allow had she been conscious.

Now that they were walking he could hear her smooth, even breathing. Her mouth was near his ear and the small puffs tickled it with each breath causing a pleasant tingle racing up and down his spine. He glanced at her from the corner of his eye. Her face was relaxed but despite the peaceful appearance Toshiro knew something was wrong.

Ichigo moved closer to study Momo's face. Unexpectedly she gave a little breathy moan and moved her head until her cheek was pressed onto Hitsugaya's shoulder. He started to answer that she was still unconscious when he noticed that the little vice-captain's face was flushed and there were beads of sweat forming along the edge of her hairline.

"Hold on," Ichigo commanded, oblivious to the startled glance Hitsugaya shot him, but complied by coming to a complete stop. Turning his head Toshiro watched out of the corner of his eye as Kurosaki moved to stand next to Momo and lowered his cheek to her forehead.

Alarmed, he jerked his head up and declared, "Toshiro she's burning up!"

"What!" However, now that Kurosaki pointed out it he did notice that her cheek was overly warm where it lay against his shoulder. He craned his neck as far as he could to see what the other shinigami was talking about.

"How…" and then they both said it at the same time, "Poison on the blade!"

Ichigo frowned; this wasn't good. He looked around but there wasn't any sign of habitation nearby.

Understanding what the orange-haired shinigami's was searching for, Hitsugaya supplied, "We are not too far from the town we stayed in last night. We'll go back to the inn and see if we can find a healer."

"Right, let's go!"

Without another word they streaked off at top speed.

* * *

"Are you sure they came this way?" Renji panted out in short bursts.

They had been moving over great swaths of ground by means of flash step for a long time now and he was at the edges of his endurance. Sweat was running down his face and the middle of his back but damned if he was going to admit it! He knew his companions were faring no better than he was, but they would have to be the ones to say something. He just hoped one of them would before he expired in a pool of sweat and drool.

"Okay, let's stop and rest."

The trio stopped, panting heavily trying to catch their breath.

"'Bout time!"

Renji hadn't meant to say that but now that it was out, he made a show of flexing and working his shoulders while walking in a circle, although it was really his legs he was worried would cramp up. Rukia was a slave driver!

He looked over at Kira who was sitting on a boulder hunched over, a hand clamped to his side where a stitch was stabbing him. He looked like how the tattooed shinigami felt.

"Hey Kira, you need to walk around before you cramp up."

"I'm good," wheezed the blonde-haired man, looking up at Renji with one eye obscured by that hanging bang. How could he stand to look out at the world only using one eye?

"You don't sound good."

"Give me a minute."

"You two are pathetic! This should be child's play!"

Renji noticed that Rukia was breathing just as hard as they were. And she was wrong; they were traveling farther than was usual for a vice-captain.

"Oh, you're one to talk," Renji rebuked, trying to keep his breathing level and even.

Rukia wiped the sweat off her face with a sleeve. "Maybe we are out of shape."

"Or maybe only captains can travel this far without taking a break every other shunpo or so."

"I don't know," Kira said, sensing that this could easily turn into a sparring match between the two old friends. "We have been practicing our butts off since Aizen left, but I don't feel any stronger."

Renji frowned at him, but Kira only gave him a shrug in return. "Listen, you got to stop being so insecure, you're getting close to bankai. Everyone knows it too."

Kira's shoulders slumped, as he admitted in a whisper, "I never longed to achieve bankai nor did I have a reason to," he looked up at his friend, "Not like you did. I didn't have any reason to before… well, you know."

"Everyone needs to do their part and get as strong as they possibly can…" she aimed a fierce look at Renji, who immediately took affront.

"I don't know why you are looking at _me _like that, at least I have achieved bankai…" he replied heatedly.

Seeing a skirmish in the making Kira leaped up and tilted his head to the side. He had sensed this for a while now and had assumed the other two were also felt it. Now he realized they hadn't sensed it yet. It was a good way to turn their attention toward another direction.

"Don't either of you sense that?"

Both Renji and Rukia stopped and their faces took on a faraway look came over their faces.

"Yeah, they aren't too far away."

Rukia nodded, "In fact, they must be in the next settlement if I read the map right."

Renji snorted and Kira sighed.

"What? I excelled in map-reading in the Academy!"

Renji rolled his eyes, "Yeah, because you sucked at everything else!'

Rukia fisted her hands as her shoulders hitched up to ear level. "You are going to…."

"Wait! I think something's wrong!"

Their squabbling instantly forgotten, Rukia and Renji simultaneously turned to Kira.

Now he was the one whose eyes took on a glazed look. Frowning, he broke out of his concentration and gasped out, "It's Momo!"

Kira stood up and with a tight frown stretched out his senses in a focused search and found what he wanted. The frown faded as he turned to his two companions who were waiting and not very patiently. "I think the town is over the next rise."

"Really?" The two said in unison and then gave each other cross look before turning back to Kira.

"I thought this looked like familiar territory and I realized that I have been out this way before on a patrol in my last year at the Academy."

Renji nodded and then shaded his eyes to peer in the direction Kira had indicated.

Rukia also turned her dark amethyst eyes to follow the rise in the landscape ahead of them. At this range there was no evidence of any sort of habitation but that wasn't odd for as close as they were to the Waste Lands. She heaved out an irritated huff of breath. Now that they were rested, she was remembering her anger of earlier. How dare Ichigo go sprinting off without her, especially when the motive was to help a friend!

She pushed at the lock of hair that cut across her face like a slash of black ink, but it stubbornly fell back into place again. It was such a habit she didn't realize she was doing it most of the time and right now her thoughts were centered on Ichigo.

Rukia knew that Ichigo considered Hitsugaya to be one of his friends, maybe not a close pal, but a friend nonetheless and it didn't matter one whit to him if the prickly captain of the Tenth considered Ichigo one or not. If Rukia had to guess, she would say that yes, Hitsugaya acted like Ichigo was a friend, albeit an annoying one, not that he would ever admit it. Well, maybe the annoying part he would. All this was based on her brief acquaintance with the silver-haired captain when they were assigned as the Advance Team to support Kurosaki when he was newly appointed to his post of substitute shinigami.

A scowl formed. Good thing Matsumoto took it upon herself to inform Rukia and company what was going on. Too bad Rangiku couldn't come with them. However she knew the limits of Hitsugaya's patience better than anyone. He wouldn't take kindly to her showing up out of the blue, abandoning the responsibility he had entrusted to her. He was touchy about such things but understandably so; but then captains were when it came to things like the survival of their divisions.

Placing her hands on her hips while gazing into the distance, she announced, "Well, how about it? Are you guys ready? I figure just a few more shunpo steps and we should find them."

"Can't wait!" Renji gave the two his famous smirk.

"Ready when you are." Kira nodded, face somber as he turned with his friends.

The trio winked out of sight as if they had never been there.

* * *

When Hitsugaya and Kurosaki first arrived at the inn from the night before, the innkeeper was not happy to see them. His face darkened an unhealthy color at the sight of the silver-haired man and the taller orange-haired man next to him as they entered the doors. Loathing etched deep lines on his face as he told them to leave the establishment, not even noticing that Hitsugaya was carrying the female shinigami from the previous day in his arms and that she was unconscious.

Innkeeper scowled at them but two shinigami stared him down with implacable, faces hard and resolute even as the rising reiatsu pressed down on him. Finally his shoulders slumped in defeat. He was no match for two determined shinigami. He relented and gave them a key without any more resistance although a dark look was sent their way after both had turned and started for the stairs.

Hitsugaya said, without turning around, "I suggest you stay out of our way and don't cause us any trouble. You won't like it if we were to get upset."

Dark thoughts flooded the innkeeper's mind and how much he hated shinigami. But not being a particularly courageous man, he decided that there was only one thing to do in such cases; raid his liquor cabinet.

"Damn. This isn't good Toshiro."

"I told you, don't call me… Oh what the hell." Hitsugaya was too on edge and tense right then to care about what title, or lack thereof, Kurosaki called him.

Ichigo moved ahead and used the key to open the door to their room. He noted with disinterest that it was next to the room they had stayed in on their previous visit. He entered and held the door wide for Hitsugaya to follow carrying the limp form of Hinamori into the room. Seeing that the setup was the same as their room the night before, moved to the bed on gliding feet and tenderly stretched Momo on the single bed.

Then Ichigo disappeared and reappeared almost instantaneously with a small basin half-filled with water, several washcloths, and a towel.

"Make some ice."

Hitsugaya was still staring down at Hinamori with a worried frown, but at the command turned to stare blankly at Ichigo, wondering if he had heard right. "What?"

"Gotta keep the water cool, but not frigid, so I figure some ice chips should do the trick," Ichigo cautioned.

At any other time Hitsugaya would have had something to say about being used as a shinigami ice machine, but he was too anxious over Momo's condition to object at the moment.

"Right." He walked over to the basin Kurosaki held in his hands and concentrated for a second and then relaxed. The basin now held slushy water.

"Handy trick," Ichigo murmured as he kneeled by Momo's side. Placing the basin on the ground, he dunked one of the washcloths into it and then wrung it out. Carefully he folded it and gently placed in on Momo's forehead.

"Okay, we can't do any more for the fever except keep her cool as possible." He went over to the basin and dipped and wrung out more washcloths. With these he wrapped around her wrists, put one gently at the base of her neck, and started to open her uniform when he found his wrist firmly caught in Hitsugaya's iron grasp.

"What are you doing?"

Ichigo understood but spoke sharply, "This is no time to get jealous Toshiro. I am putting these on, or as near as I can get, where the blood flow is closest to the surface of her skin to help keep her cool."

He studied the stubborn set of Hitsugaya's jaw and flashing aquamarine eyes promising all sorts of pain to the human shinigami.

Very succinctly he stated "I'm trying to help her, this isn't about you or what you think." For Hinamori's sake he would overpower Hitsugaya if he had to; he just hoped it wouldn't come to that.

Hitsugaya glowered at the taller male, but then finally relaxed his grip. He didn't have to like it but Kurosaki was right, this was all about saving Hinamori.

* * *

Many thanks (and a hug to each) to Chaos Dragon, hinatanarutofan, Milli Tora, Saigo no Hajime, and shortliketoshiro for commenting! Your reviews made my day! *nods emphatically*

_Dwellin_

Wearing a placard around her neck that reads: "Will work for reviews"


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